The Cracks In Your Nerve
by Leaonancano
Summary: Kirrin was a Bosmer vampire living in Falkreath. She was content with life until her coven fell under attack. She is the only survivor and with no one to turn to, she decides to join the Riften Thieves' Guild and with a certain male Bosmer her whole life will turn upside down.
1. Introduction - Chapter 1

Falkreath was a small village, I remembered vaguely. No walls protected it from the harshness of the wilderness and the night air was always overpowered by the scent of pine trees. It was famous for its graveyard, the biggest in Skyrim if I recalled correctly. Not that it's anything to brag about in my opinion, what's good about an area of dead people? It obviously worked for travellers though as the inn was always full of soldiers, adventurers, mages and in my case, vampires.

When I first got the job to come here, I laughed. Pretty ironic that a vampire who has been dead for thousands of years ends up in a town with a graveyard. Although being a vampire doesn't mean I detest the dead, it just means I have a certain...compassion for them, with me being dead and all. Especially the draugr, poor bastards.

As soon as I stepped foot into this dreary little town the first thing I noticed was how gloomy it was. Maybe it was the graveyard or an omen or just plain coincidence but the three times I've been here, it has been raining.

I cursed under my breath at not bringing a coat and wrapped my slender arms around my thin torso. My dress was already dripping murky water at the hem and my once dry hair was now clung to my face in short tendrils of hazel. Being a Bosmer, I was used to the rain, seeing as Valenwood is a jungle but the rain in Skyrim was different and I couldn't explain why for the life of me.

The guards nodded at me politely and I returned the favor. If I was coming here to feed I might as well be nice while I can. The rain was definitely not ceasing its torrent so I rushed over to the welcoming warmth of the inn as soon as my shivering frame would allow me.

The rush of heat hit my face as soon as I pushed open the heavy oak door and I was glad inns were so well heated for once. The usual hubbub of meaningless chatter assaulted my ears as the door banged behind me and I swept my soaking hair away from my eyes. Looking around I noticed my target, seated by the bard who was playing an annoying ditty on his blasted lute. Oh, how I hated bards.

He was an Altmer, a pretty one at that. Well, that wasn't a surprise as all Altmer have beauty as a common trait. Lucky bastards. From what I could tell he was tall, maybe 6'4 and he had the prominent features of any elf in Tamriel. Jutted out brow bone, slanted amber eyes, high cheekbones, pointed ears and an angular face made an elf from any province. His hair was golden and hung loosely around his broad shoulders and his skin was tanned and shined in the glow from the roaring fire.

I could tell he was rich by his armor. Steel armor by the looks of it but not just any armor, it had intricate patterns running the length of the arms and what seemed to be initials carved into the chest plate. He was also quite nervous from what I could see even though his stern gaze was fixated on the floor, his fingers played an unfamiliar tune on the hilt of his Orcish battle axe which looked to be enchanted as it emanated a strange red glow.

The other locals of Falkreath were sat around the edges, chatting and drinking and enjoying themselves and thankfully not paying attention to me. I shuffled my way over to the bar and I smiled a welcoming smile, making sure to conceal my fangs.

The bartender was a short, stout Redguard woman wearing simple clothes that hung loosely to her frame. She looked harmless and normal so her appearance didn't worry me. Can't be too careful when you're a vampire in Skyrim.

"Welcome to Dead Man's Drink, traveller. You look like you could use a bottle of mead, or maybe a tankard of wine?" she interrupted, scattering my thoughts and forcing me to be social.

"Pleasure to meet you," I replied in my lilting Valenwood accent, "could I get a bottle of your finest spiced wine, please?"

"Sure you can," she said, reaching under the old wooden counter and producing a green bottle. "That'll be 10 gold."

I said my thanks to her and pushed the ten meager coins into her outstretched palm. Turning away I noticed the bard had finally stopped playing, leaving an empty seat next to my target. Smirking, I pushed some now dry strands of hair from my face and sauntered over to him, trying to look as charming as possible. Being a vampire and all, our charm is our number one asset when getting the kill.

As soon as I sat down his gaze broke from the floor and turned to me. His eyes were puzzled for a second but that was dashed away by hunger. He smirked flirtatiously and leaned closer, taking a drink from his tankard as he did so.

"Well, well, what brings a beautiful Bosmer like you these savage places in Skyrim?" he asked his voice filled with confidence and arrogance as all Altmer do. His breath also smelled vaguely of mint and mead.

I flashed my teeth, again, making sure my fangs were hidden and licked my lips.

"I could ask the same about you pretty boy," I giggled and I took a sip of my spiced wine, trying not to spit it out. The wine in Skyrim tasted like urine compared to the fine vintages of Valenwood.

And that was that. Approximately thirty-two minutes later we were concealed behind the inn, my back pressed against the rough wood of the wall and the Altmer, whose name was Oberon, was nipping at my neck. Oh, how ironic that's what I would be doing any minute now.

His sloppy mouth moved up, placing wet kisses along my chin as he did so and reached my mouth again. He tasted disgusting, of wine and mead and sweet rolls but the things I do for feeding, eh?

His frame blocked any light from the moon from getting to me and I took this opportunity to expose my fangs. Using my enhanced senses, I listened to his pulse. It was rapid and sounded like a birds wings fluttering. His blood was also rushing wildly around his body, probably because he was intoxicated more than anything.

Time to strike, I thought and unleashing my razor-sharp fangs from the confines of my mouth, I let out a small snarl and dug my fangs into his soft flesh, just on his jugular.

His arms lost the grip around my waist and the only sound that could be heard was a squeaking cry from Oberon as I drained every last drop of sweet blood from his pretty little neck. I could almost feel my powers growing as his blood ran its course down my parched throat.

I pulled back slowly, kissing the wounds on his skin and I let go of his body. His now limp corpse flopped to the ground in a haphazard way, his armor clacking together and the mud squelching under the extra weight. Oh, how I loved the feeling of the kill.

I stared down at his body, the moonlight illuminated my fang marks and making them look very ominous. Wiping my mouth of his drying blood I kicked him in the ribs and laughed.

"Good riddance, Altmer bastard."


	2. The Revelation - Chapter 2

Our hideout wasn't exactly the biggest or the best and it wasn't exactly a very good 'hideout' as numerous raids from soldiers, bandits and rival vampires proved, but it was what I considered to be home. Sure, it had a strange smell from Axela's room which we never talked about, (we tried to bring it up once and she turned Leana into a rat for two weeks) and the rocky ceiling above my bed dripped water on me when it was raining but I was always glad to come back here after being away, especially to just sit by the fire and drink until the early hours with the coven.

Ah, our coven. We weren't the most powerful vampire coven in Skyrim but we tried and I guess that's what matters, right? There are ten of us all together here and without them, I would be completely lost. From me arriving in Skyrim as a fresh faced vampire from Valenwood and now, they've been a better family than my family were to me. Well, that isn't hard. We were all different and unique in our funny ways, like how Perat hates sleeping with the torch's lit as he always thinks they will somehow topple over in the night and light the cave on fire and how Bennvi only likes to drink blood from human races, makes us, well us. There were also the twins, Erin and Tulra, they were both changed into vampires at the same time by our leader, Indras, a couple years back and every job they get they go together. I think that's kinda cute, don't you? We also have Reten, the joker, or the idiot, as I call him. Also, last but not least, Quinn. There is not really much to say about Quinn except I hear him, at night. Whispering to someone or something in his bedroom and I don't really want to know what to be honest...

So, that is the ten of us in our full frontal glory as blood sucking vampires that everybody seems to hate. Oh, but I haven't told you about myself yet, have I? I personally don't think there is a whole lot to tell about me but, here goes. My full name that my mother gave me when I was born on the 15th of Evening Star was Kirrin Dreathil Oakwing, I know, what a name?

My mother and father were hard working and honest people who would help anybody they could, except their own children. When I was born I already had an older brother called Fillim and two older sisters called Geldii and Lorche so we were quite a big family. I hated it. My sisters would taunt me about my hazel hair when all my family had black hair and my brother would steal all and any of my possessions to sell to fuel his lavish lifestyle. It was awful and I remember thinking about the day I could finally leave would be a dream, and it was. At the age of 14 I had had enough with my family so I ran, I ran to the borders of Valenwood and stood, crying. I didn't want to go into the world yet but I so desperately needed to and that was when I met a group of Valenwood vampires who changed me without so much as a hello and dumped me in Skyrim. And now, at the age of 23, here I am, in this gods forsaken coven that I love yet hate so much but I wouldn't trade for all the riches in the world. Well, maybe I'd trade Reten.

After my successful kill last night in Falkreath, I headed back to the coven with my head held high and my stomach full for once to hopefully get praise from our leader, Indras. Not that I liked getting praise, it's just that for once, I wanted to be better than Reten for once. He always seemed to get the perfect kills and he definitely had the perfect looks and if I wasn't a vampire, I would get seduced by him in zero seconds flat. But I was a vampire and I knew all his tricks and the real personality behind his charming exterior. He was boastful and big headed and when in an argument with him, he knew all the right buttons to push to get you to crack and reduce your confidence in one single snide remark and that's why I hated him.

I shook my head to clear the horrible thoughts of Reten and I continued to shiver and stumble my way back to our hideout as the temperature had plummeted considerably in the last two seconds. Rubbing my hands along my arms, I finally caught sight of our rundown cabin in the Falkreath woods, Pinewatch. It was the perfect place really, it had a secret underground network of caves behind a seemingly normal cabinet and we either had me, Axela or Erin upstairs to act like an innocent woodcutter earning there living in the wilds to keep random wanderers from finding our coven. A pretty good ruse, I think.

Walking up the gravelly path to Pinewatch, I realised that the door was ajar, which wasn't normal for our coven. If anything our coven was so paranoid, we always double checked that the cupboard to our underground lair was always closed and we always had two people on night watch at any moment. So, the door being half open immediately raised my suspicions and using my enhanced smelling, I scoped out the door. My suspicions were proven correct as the door and the handle were both covered in a god awful smell that could only be described as a rotting carcass of a rodent that has been dragged through miles of cow dung, horse dung and chicken dung and then left in a swamp for four months. It was the smell of werewolves.

By the Gods, I cursed, my heartbeat quickening to a rapid pace and my palms were sticky with sweat. This couldn't be happening, I was imagining it. If I just closed my eyes for a couple of seconds I would wake up in my room in our hideout, warm and somewhat confused. I stood there, my eyes sealed shut and my breathing now reduced to short, shallow gasps as I willed myself to wake up from this nightmare. But, when I finally opened my eyes, I was still stood in the pine forest, staring at Pinewatch. My hands were now shaking uncontrollably and my eyes were pricking with the unmistakable feel of tears as I slowly, oh so slowly, edged towards the tainted door.

Creaking the heavy door open, the stench of werewolf littered the air and penetrated my nostrils and I gagged, my hand covering my mouth and nose. I tentatively peeked my head around the door and gasped, the floor was slick with crimson blood and everything was either on the floor or splattered unceremoniously on the stone walls, leaving ugly bruises that would forever haunt my mind. I didn't know who's blood had painted the room and I hoped it was a werewolves and not a vampires. Scanning the room I noticed a hunched up figure in the corner, slumped over a barrel, a huge gash was visible on the figures side and I rushed over to see who it was. As I neared the figure I could see unmistakable ginger hair that hung loosely around the figures neck and I knew who it was.

It was Bennvi.


	3. Run - Chapter 3

"Bennvi?" I stammered, my throat closing in as Bennvi didn't respond to my pleas for him to wake up, his face was drained of all colour and his open mouth was dribbling a ruby red liquid that had pooled onto the floor. I sat carefully on the floor next to him, avoiding the blood and I shook him. He was freezing and his face was devoid of all life and as I studied his motionless form I noticed that his chest wasn't rising and falling as it should be. I knew then and there Bennvi was dead.

My mouth tried to form a comprehensible word but all that came out was a sob that shattered the silence and filled every corner of the room. Dead, dead, _dead, dead_ was all that resounded through my head and as I slumped against the wall I brought my knees up to my tear stained face and I cried. I couldn't remember the last time I had cried and I let all my pent up emotions pour out through me as I sat on the cold floor, rocking back and forth to try and numb the pain that had pooled in my stomach. After I had stopped crying I felt an overwhelming sense of anger and determination take over my mind and I knew I had to find the rest of my coven, even if all of them were dead, I would avenge them.

Continuing through the dungeon I had found all but Leana's body in the coven and I was praying that she was somehow still alive, but I highly doubted it after I had seen what the werewolves had to the others. As I neared the end of our hideout, I heard what appeared to be strangled screams coming from Leana's bedroom, the screams were blood-curdling and I tried to block out the tortuous sounds but to no avail. I narrowed my almond shaped eyes and focused my magicka to cast a powerful shock spell in my left hand and I drew my ebony dagger in my right hand as I crawled anxiously towards Leana's bedroom.

The door was partially open and golden beams of light streamed out, casting ominous shadows onto the floor as I hesitantly peered through the space. Leana was sprawled on her bed, ugly gashes were littered across her milky white skin and two monstrous werewolves were peering over her almost in a smug fashion as they took it in turns to rip and claw at her already marred appearance. I fought back a gasp of horror as I continued to watch the mesmerizing yet gruesome scene before me. The werewolves were to engrossed in inflicting pain upon Leana as I pushed open the iron door to notice me and I as I let my sparks crackle and fizz in my palm, Leana gave one last sonorous cry of pain and fell unconscious from the pain.

Letting the sparks fly to the werewolf on my right, I charged into the room and proceeded to fire sparks left, right and centre as I became a whirlwind of slashing as the two stunned werewolves tried to claw me but before they had a chance, they were both laying on the floor dead, blood pouring from their open wounds that I had caused. I spat maliciously on the floor and bounded over to Leana who was bleeding from every possible place. Her once auburn hair that was always silky was now matted with blood and sweat and her pretty face was ruined by huge scars that reached from her chin to her forehead. Her breathing was laboured and ragged as I pulled her gently onto my lap, stroking strands of her hair away from her peaceful face. Hot tears of anguish and frustration cascaded down my face and landed in droplets onto Leana's face as I cradled her broken body in my arms.

We stayed like that for what seemed like hours yet it could only have been a few minutes as I watched Leana drift in and out of consciousness, her breathing becoming more and more shallow. Finally, Leana's chest stopped heaving and her last breath resounded in my ears as I gently set her down upon the bed and covered her with a blanket. In the space of an hour, my whole life had been destroyed by two mutts and everyone I ever cared about was dead.

Leaving Pinewatch with my possessions I noticed that the sun was rising, creating a hazy hue of pastel pinks and blues that streamed across the expanse of the morning sky. If not for the previous events of the day, this day would have almost seemed blissful and as I breathed in a crisp lungful of air, I realised I had nowhere to go, no one to turn to. Racking my brain for ideas, I suddenly and thankfully remembered Ingun, my friend in Riften who I had known from when I first arrived in Skyrim. She had helped me earn some honest money and some alchemy skills and while we were at it, we formed a closed bond. A small ghost of a smile crept upon my face and with a glimmer of hope in my eyes, I set off for Riften.


	4. Acceptance - Chapter 4

_Loredas, 3rd Last Seed, 4E 201 -_

_I have set up camp in Clearspring Tarn and I hope that I will reach Riften by tomorrow without any hinderance's towards me. So far my journey has been relatively uneventful save for the occasional wolf, sabre cat, bear and troll and I have not sustained any injuries, thank the divines. I stopped off in Ivarstead on the way here to buy some more food and supplies and to buy some more spell books, a vampire can never be too careful. It is getting dark now and my eyes are shutting of their own accord so I think I will rest up now to get an early start in the morning. I hope Ingun will be pleased to see me._

I put my pen down and snapped my red leather journal shut that was nearly full to the brim with my musings these last few years and tucked it carefully away in my knapsack. The sun was now sinking below the tree line and the rustling of the leaves had died down as night fell upon The Rift. Yawning, I pulled the pins from my head and rubbed where they had been as my nutmeg coloured hair fell down around my shoulders and hung limply in short tendrils. After I had washed my tired face and put my hair into a bun, I realised I hadn't had any blood for nearly 4 days. Luckily, I had a some blood with me that I carried everywhere I went in case of emergencies such as these and as I uncorked the potion, my instincts took over and I gulped down the bottle in less than twenty seconds, blood dribbling messily down my face as I did so. When the bottle was drained and my powers had receded I crawled into my bed roll and fell to sleep as soon as my head hit my makeshift pillow.

The chattering of birds and the lapping of water against rocks was what woke me up as I rubbed the sleep from my hazel eyes; stood up and stretched, making groans of content as I did so. My robes were rumpled and my hair looked like a birds nest but I was well rested and somewhat happy so I ignored my dishevelled appearance as I packed up my bed roll and tent and ate a meager breakfast of bread and cheese with some mead to wash it down and then I set off for Riften.

As the sun was at its highest point in the turquoise sky, I spotted the stone walls of Riften in the distance, standing proudly among the autumnal leaves of the scenery and I quickened my pace to get there before I died from heat exhaustion. Approaching the gates, the guards looked at me with disdain but I ignored them as I frantically pushed open the oak doors to Riften. The first thing that I noticed was the smell of stagnant water and fish that permeated the air and clung to the insides of my nostrils in an unpleasant manner. The second thing I noticed was that Riften was looking even more derelict, houses stood crumbling along the sides of the canal and beggars roamed the streets, pleading for just one septim as I made my way along to Elgrim's Elixirs where Ingun would no doubt be, practicing her alchemy. The market was just how I remembered it, bustling with shoppers and merchants and pickpockets, possibly as I made my way through it.

"Running a little light in the pockets, eh lass?" a strong Scottish accent said from my right. A look of confusion darted across my elfish face as I turned to face a Nord man with bright red hair that reached to his shoulders, adorned with plaits as well, I noted. He was clothed in a blue robe and a maroon undershirt and he was cleanly shaved, his eyes were also the brightest blue I've ever seen. He was almost attractive but I generally didn't go for Nords so I setlled for the nicest smile I could manage whilst hiding my fangs.

"How do you know?" I questioned him, my eyes narrowing with suspicion. I only had one hundred septims with me, but it was all I needed to get to Riften. He laughed a hearty laugh and his eyes twinkled with mirth as he spoke.

"It's all about sizing up your mark, lass. In my line of work, sizing up people is useful and I'm guessing you could use some more coin, eh?"

I thought about this statement for a moment, I didn't have a problem with unhonest work which I was guessing he was offering me and I wouldn't mind a few more septims to add to my coinpurse so I agreed. Ten minutes later, I was crouched behind an Argonian's market stall while the Nord, whose name I found out was Brynjolf, was distracting the market rabble with talk of a fake Falmer Blood Elixir. I chuckled to myself as I unlocked the strongbox and I pocketed the golden ring that I was now about to plant onto an unsuspecting Dark Elf called Brand-Shei. I stood up and shuffled over to where Brand-Shei was sitting and dropped the ring into his pocket. Easy, I thought as I winked at Brynjolf to signal the job had been done.

He stopped speaking and the merchants and shoppers returned to what they were doing as I made my way over to Brynjolf.

"Good job, lass. Couldn't have done it better myself. Seems like this line of work suits you, here is your pay." Brynjolf praised as he produced a coin purse and placed it into my outstretched hand.

"Now, lass. There's plenty more where that came from but our organization has been through a rough patch lately and you seem the type of person who could pull it around." He whispered to me.

"What organization?" I asked him, putting my coinpurse into my knapack.

He leaned in even closer and and whispered into my pointed ear.

"The Thieves' Guild."


	5. Butterflies - Chapter 5

The hubbub of chatter in the Bee and Barb was deafening as I entered to try and find a room for the night. An Argonian woman looked at me strangely as I entered and I sheepishly walked over to her intimidating glare to ask if she had a spare room.

"Yeah, we have a spare room, if you've got ten gold." she barked in her husky voice, staring intently at my face.

"Um, yeah I have money." I stammered as I fumbled trying to get ten gold coins out of my coinpurse. Brynjolf had given me one hundred gold for finishing the job so now I had more than enough to spend. She grabbed the money out of my hand and bit on it to check it's authenticity and smiled a toothy smile.

"Is there anything else I could get you?" she spoke softly, niceties coming into play for once.

"No thank you." I smiled at her and proceeded to walk up the stairs to my room. It wasn't anything special but I suppose it would have to do, I thought glumly. Taking off my knapsack I decided to write in my journal to pass the time. After Brynjolf had told me he worked for The Thieves' Guild I was apprehensive at the most but after some coaxing from Brynjolf I had decided to join. I didn't know if I had made the worst or the best mistake in my life but I would just have to wait and see. Letting my fountain pen touch the paper, I wrote another journal entry.

_Sundas, 4th Last Seed - 4E 201_

_To say this day was eventful would be an understatement. I am writing this in the inn at the Bee and Barb in Riften after accepting to join The Thieves' Guild. I know it sounds stupid, me being a thief and all but I have a feeling this could open up a lot of good opportunities for me in terms of thieving. I'm going to go to the Ragged Flagon soon (a tavern in the sewers) to meet with Brynjolf so he can give me my first proper job in The Thieves' Guild. See you then._

The sky was the colour of soot as I pushed open the door of the inn and out into the crisp night air that turned the ends of my fingers numb and my nose a ghastly shade of magenta. The only sounds to be heard were the blacksmith's infernal pounding on his anvil and the dilute chirping of the birds. I blended in well with the shadows as I wanted to be as inconspicuous as possible as from what i'd heard from locals, The Thieves' Guild wasn't exactly a noble cause to be in. Walking down the steps to the entrance had told me to go to, I wondered if I was doing the right thing but I quickly pushed it aside as I enter The Ratway.

Shutting the door quietly behind me I could hear lilting voices coming from up ahead, two males. I crouched and summoned a spark spell in my left hand as I cautiously made my way over to the source of the voices. It was two men dressed in fur armor, they were arguing about living in the sewer and whilst I was contemplating whether or not to sneak around them, I heard the one closest to me say he was going to check the door at the entrance. My pulse quickened and I froze, maybe he wouldn't spot me but I highly doubted it so before he got to me, I tensed my hands and let go of the spell. It hit him squarely in the chest and he flew back, knocking his head on the stone floor. Dead.

His friend quickly pulled out his iron sword and came charging for me but before he had a chance, my fangs had locked onto his neck and were draining his very life force out of him, he tasted of mead but I didn't care at the moment as every drop of his blood ran down my throat. I sighed and dropped him to the floor, looting fifteen gold off of him and his friend before I continued through The Ratway. I came across some skeevers, a man who I think was half man half giant and a lowlife in the sewers but they weren't a big problem for me so I got to The Ragged Flagon with time to spare. However, as I pushed open the door to The Ragged Flagon, I felt like turning and running back out. Six members of The Thieves' Guild were stood around a bar, talking about me. They hadn't spotted me yet so I decided to eavesdrop and hear what Brynjolf thought about me.

"So, Bryn," came a voice that sounded like the person had a bad cold, "what race is she?"

"She's a Wood Elf, a pretty once as well," he said and the Flagon erupted into uproarious laughter. I blushed furiously and continued listening.

"Bryn, you can't be falling for a pretty, little Bosmer now can we?" a smug voice came from my left, a woman.

"No, I don't go for elves," he stated, then continued, "anyway, Niruin will probably get jealous if I take her before he does."

Niruin? That sounded like a Bosmer name, I thought excitedly, maybe I knew him from Valenwood, but I doubted it as I hardly knew anyone as a kid.

They had stopped talking altogether and the sound of laughter and chatter once again filled the air. I stood up and smoothed out my black robes and patted down my unruly hair as I casually strolled into the Flagon, even though my heart was beating like a birds wings trapped in a cage. The silence was deafening as I strolled over to Brynjolf who was seated at the bar, a tankard of mead in his hands. He looked up and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"Ah, lass. You made it!" he exclaimed, shocked.

"Yup, it wasn't too hard." I remarked and the Flagon went back to normal, as if I wasn't there.

"Well, lass, I have your first proper job. You need to go and shake out some money from these people." he listed them off, they were Bersi Honey-Hand, Haelga and Keerava, the Argonian bartender in the Bee and Barb.

"Okay, any rules I should be aware of?" I questioned,

"Don't kill anyone, we're not the Dark Brotherhood, that isn't how we do business." he stated then slapped me on the back and wished me good luck as I walked out of the Flagon.

I knew I was going to like it here.


	6. Home - Chapter 6

The wind whipped forcefully around my face, stinging my cheeks and causing my hair to whip erratically around my sallow face as I left the sewers. No doubt I smelt awful but I had other things at the forefront of my mind, like confronting that Argonian who seemed to want my guts for garters. Shivering, I made my way up the wooden stairs and padded over to The Pawned Prawn where Bersi Honey-Hand was just about to lock his shop door. I ran over to him and tried to look menacing but I probably just looked like I had a belly ache so I dropped the facade. As I approached him, he looked up at me and frowned, I had never met him before so this should be interesting, I thought as I neared him.

"Who are you?" he questioned, shattering the impenetrable silence around us.

"None of your business." I remarked, shocked at the force of my own words and then I continued, "Brynjolf wants his money, Bersi."

His face lost all colour as he straightened up. He was at least a head taller than me but that didn't mean I was afraid of him.

"I, um, I don't have it at the moment, just tell Brynjolf i'll get it to him as soon as possible." he stammered, pleading at me with his eyes.

I snorted at him and laughed a contemptuous laugh. I folded my thin arms around my chest and stared at him.

"Do you really expect me to believe that? Brynjolf wants his money and he wants it now." I said, my voice raising with each word.

Bersi caved in eventually and handed me a coin purse with one hundred gold in.

"Thank you for your services, Bersi." I laughed, then sauntered off to my next victim, Haelga.

Haelga wasn't that hard to convince, all I had to do was take her statue of Dibella and threaten to throw it down the well in the market place. She gave me the money and hoped I choked on it to which I replied 'I will'.

Finally was Keerava. The one I was dreading. But, as soon as I entered the Bee and Barb, her lover, Talen-Jei, was stood waiting for me with a coinpurse ready. A look of confusion must have crossed my face as he explained.

"We've heard about you going round threatening people, the last thing we want is a war with your people." he said flatly, his eyes full of sorrow were quickly replaced by anger as I snatched the coinpurse out of his hand and flashed him a wink, exiting the Bee and Barb.

A couple of minutes later I was being congratulated in the Flagon, people patting me on the back and offering to buy me rounds of mead which I politely kept declining as I basked in the feeling of being accepted which I had not felt since the coven. Thinking of the coven was painful so I pushed that to the back of my mind as Brynjolf asked me to follow him.

We walked through a corridor and Brynjolf opened an unsuspecting storage cabinet that led into an even longer corridor with a door at the end. Brynjolf noticed my look of surprised and chuckled.

"Safety precaution put in by Mercer, you're going to meet him now. He might be in a bad mood so just listen to him and we'll all get along fine." Brynjolf said, which made me even more nervous.

He pushed open the door and what lay before me was astounding. A plinth rested on the centre of a circle of water, four archways leading up to it. Waterfalls adorned the wall and beds were pushed up against the walls. One side of the room had an archery practice area, a grindstone and a table full of food and four pathways lead off in different directions. Following Brynjolf after my moment of awe, I noticed many people were staring at me, probably because I was the new recruit I thought, shaking my head to clear thoughts away of joining the coven. As I approached the plinth I noticed a Breton man standing, waiting for me. He was incredibly intimidating and his steely grey eyes seemed to bore a hole into me. I looked away from his gaze and focused instead on my feet as I continued following Brynjolf until I was stood on the centre, next to the Breton whom I assumed was Mercer, the leader.

Looking up I noticed he had stopped staring at me and was talking to Brynjolf about how I had better not be another waste of resources to which I took a dislike to. Brynjolf reassured him and he turned to stare at me. He said the rules then spoke.

"Got it, Wood Elf?" he spat at me in a malicious way.

"Understood." I spoke, biting my tongue to stop me from shouting at him.

"Go get your armour from Tonilia." he said and with that, I turned and shuffled back to the Flagon to get my armour. It was a soft nutmeg brown leather with buckles and buttons everywhere. I looked at it in disdain as I usually wore my robes instead of real armour but I still accepted it gratefully and put it on. It hugged me in all the right places and felt like heaven compared to my tatty robe as I pulled my hood up over my eyes. I smiled and thanked Tonilia before I returned to Brynjolf who showed me where I would be sleeping.

Before Brynjolf left I thanked him for letting me in to which he smiled and walked off, leaving me alone with the rest of the members who I had never met before. I sat on my bed and crossed my legs, planning on writing my days adventures in my journal, however before I got chance to get it out, a dark shadow blocked my light. I looked up to the figure and noticed it was a Nord woman with piercing blue eyes and dark chocolate brown hair that framed her pale face. She was dressed in short sleeved armour and she smiled at me in an inviting manner, relaxing me.

"I'm Sapphire," she proclaimed, holding her white hand out to me which I took with my golden one.

"Kirrin," I replied, our hands falling back at our sides as she proceeded to introduce all the other members as we sat side by side on my bed.

"Oh, over there's Vipir, he's really annoying so watch out for him, there's Cynric, oh, and that's Thrynn and him over there, that's Niruin."

I squinted my eyes to get a better look at Niruin but he was too far away for me to see, but from what I could tell, he was a good archer as every arrow he notched, it landed in the heart of the dummy.

Usually, Bosmer are expected to be amazing at archery but sadly, I didn't have that trait to which every kid at my school would tease me relentlessly about until I would run home crying, vowing to never return back to school. After about an hour of talking, Sapphire decided to go to bed so I decided to go and talk to Niruin.

When I found him, he was in the training room, releasing arrow after arrow, landing perfectly on target every time. He didn't seem to notice me enter so I stood for a couple of minutes, entranced by his perfection. Eventually, he looked up and I smiled at him to which he exchanged a look of confusion to me. He put his bow on his back and walked over to me. He was about two heads taller than me and he was gorgeous.

His skin was a lovely shade of gold that shimmered in the dim light, his eyes were perfectly slanted and were the colour of honey and his cheekbones jutted out prominently. I couldn't tell what colour his hair was but I was guessing it was an auburn colour that accented his face.

"Hello?" he said, his calm Valenwood accent transporting me back to the jungle. My throat closed up as his gaze bore into my eyes and I coughed to try and talk.

"Hello, I'm Kirrin, and you are?" I stated, even though I already knew who he was.

"I'm Niruin." he replied, finally allowing a dazzling smile to creep upon his face.

I think i'm in love.


	7. Knowledge - Chapter 7

Niruin's soothing voice accented my dreams that night as I drifted in and out of love induced dreams that had me imagining me and him, running through Valenwood, hand in hand. I'd only know him for a day yet already butterflies would appear in my stomach and I would choke on my own words whenever he talked to me. I sounded like a love struck teenager, for Talos' sake! He probably thought I was crazy or something so I decided to document my feelings for him in my journal, away from prying eyes.

_Fredas, 9th Last Seed - 4E 201_

_I haven't wrote in here for ages but this is due to my now hectic life in the Thieves' Guild. I have been doing fishing, numbers and shill jobs left, right and centre and I haven't had chance to relax. However, a certain Bosmer named Niruin is in the Guild and I honestly think I'm in love. I've never felt like this before and, to be frank, it scares me how one person can change you like this. He makes me nervous and anxious yet I feel so safe around him. He seems to like me somewhat but not in the way I want I'm afraid. I'll just have to wait and maybe our friendship will blossom into something else, who knows?_

During my time here, I had made friends with everyone in the Guild, including the stony Vex who I now considered to be a true friend. The days were the same, wake up around one o'clock, shovel down breakfast, get a job from either Vex or Delvin then return home around four in the morning with good news and a heavy head. I was content for the first time in a long time and I felt like the Guild was a close knit family to which I was accepted into. However, the day my life turned on its head was the day I got a particularly special job from Delvin.

"Kirrin, Delvin wanted to see you in the Flagon." came Brynjolf's voice from above me. I was engrossed in a new book I had recently 'borrowed' from the Arcaneum in Winterhold and I didn't notice him until he shook me gently.

"Huh?" I looked up confused, my eyes adjusting to the harshness of the torches.

"Delvin wants to see you in the Flagon." he repeated and flashed me a smile before walking off to talk to Cynric. I stretched exasperatedly and stood up, my joints clicking in unison as I made my way over to the Flagon. Pushing open the door, I noticed Niruin leaning casually against the wooden crates, his piercing eyes concealed by his hood that always covered his head. My heartbeat quickened as I walked over to Delvin and Niruin and asked what this was all about as today was my day off.

"Well, I have a special assignment for you two that requires your special skills." he smirked.

"Skills?" Niruin questioned, sharing a look of confusion with me as we waited for Delvin's response.

"You're Bosmer aren't you and what skill do all Bosmer share?" he said as if it was obvious.

"Archery?" I guessed, my hopes dropping as I realised I would have to use my god awful archery.

"Exactly," he laughed, producing a crisp, white note from his cuirass pocket and handing it to Niruin which he took in his slender fingers.

I peered over his shoulder, reading the letter, my look of dread deepening with every sentence.

_Delvin,_

_5 Khajiit caravans are going to be passing along the main road between Solitude and Dragon's Bridge on the 11th Last Seed. These caravans contain many wonderful treasures that I require so I need your two best archers on the job. I will provide the poison to sedate the drivers of the caravans to put on the arrows and I will meet the two members when the job is done in Solitude with your money. If your chosen two set off as soon as you get this letter, it will take them no more than a day to reach the caravan's so I'm expecting you soon._

_Yours sincerely,_

_J_

"Who's 'J'?" I questioned, my brow furrowing along with Niruin who had passed Delvin the letter back.

"Aha," Delvin smirked and tapped the side of his crooked nose, "personal information" and with that, me and Niruin where whisked away with supplies and weapons without as much as a good bye.

To say I was nervous would be laughable as we trudged through the thick mud of The Rift's hills. We had been travelling for about an hour in companionable silence until Niruin had suggested to set up camp in Clearspring Tarn, how ironic that I had been here not a week ago. We set up camp which consisted of two meager tents, two uncomfortable bed rolls and some horker meat, bread, apples and mead. After setting up camp, Niruin went off to find some dry wood for the fire and as he did this, I got out my journal and documented the day. Putting my journal on the floor, I helped him light the fire, the inferno nearly setting my hair alight as we toasted a rabbit Niruin had shot earlier that day. The crackling of the fire and the rumble of my stomach were the only sounds to be heard as Niruin dished out the portions with care, making sure we had the same amount. I thanked him and we ate in silence until Niruin broke the heavy silence that had cloaked around us like a thick blanket.

"So," he coughed setting his plate down beside him, "how do you think this job'll go?" he said, leaning back on one arm and staring at me intently.

The light of the fire illuminated one side of his face, casting dark shadows onto his slanted cheekbones as I replied.

"Um, well, I'm not very good at archery to be honest. I think the archery trait bypassed me." I stammered, trying to make a joke of the situation as I sheepishly admitted this to Niruin. A look of sympathy crossed his face as he fiddled with a blade of grass between his fore and middle finger.

"I could teach you if you like," he offered, smiling up at me with a look of mirth as I tried to think how to respond. Of course I wanted to be taught by Niruin but I don't think I would be a good enough pupil for him to train. However, the love struck side of my brain took over as I stupidly agreed to be taught by him.

With that out of the way, we decided to sleep for the night as we ate the last of the rabbit and dimmed the fire. The temperature had plummeted as I crawled into my bed roll but for once, I was looking forward to the following days ahead.


	8. Discovery - Chapter 8

_The unmistakable stench of decaying flesh permeated the air and caused my nose to wrinkle in disgust as I gradually made my way over to the source of the odour. Lights in the heavy fog that cloaked the ground would spontaneously flash, as if warning me to turn back and the eerie silence that blanketed me like a veil made me even more nervous. I came to a ominous iron door that looked as though it hadn't been opened in centuries, blood carelessly splattered the door in an intricate pattern of horror and my heartbeat quickened to an almost dangerous pace. Pushing the door open, my eyes widened to a scene of utter devastation, my coven, littered on the floor with limbs and organs strewn about the room like confetti as the bile in my stomach threatened to rise. An inhumane noise managed to escape my covered mouth and I sank to my knees in a defeated stance, my tears now trickling calmly down my dirt covered face as I took in the sight. Suddenly, two pairs of brown, bushy claws clamped down onto my forearms stopping me from moving and a visage appeared out of the hazy fog with eyes as red as blood and teeth that glowed dully in the dimly lit room. It was a werewolf. He clambered towards me almost nonchalantly, a smug grin of contempt flashed across his face as he neared me. _

_This is a sick joke, I thought. I've already lived through this once, why again?_

_"No..." I pleaded, my mouth filled with saliva, making my words incoherent and my eyes watering with fresh tears as he bent down to eye level with me and opened his mouth. All I could see were teeth lathered in crimson blood and the darkness of his open mouth as he without warning leaned forward to lick my neck. I whimpered in disgust and I lifted my head up to avoid his penetrating gaze and then without warning his teeth sunk into my neck, a horrible sound of gargling filled the room and I abruptly realised I was making the noise._

_The werewolf behind me let me fall to the ground as blood trickled from my open neck and my vision darkened and became hazy at the corners. Black, black, black... black._

__My gut-wrenching scream pierced the oppressive silence that had shrouded the night and was the only sound to be heard for miles. I was sat up in my tent, my hair stuck to my sallow face in wet tendrils and beads of cold sweat were running down my face. The blanket that once covered my body was now twisted awkwardly around my feet and my breathing was resonating in my ears in shallow gasps that formed white clouds of mist which eventually swirled and dissipated rapidly in the chill night air. My shaky hands reached up to smooth back my unkempt hair and I willed myself to try and calm by breathing but to no avail. A rustling from Niruin's tent next to me caused me to be silent and all of a sudden, Niruin appeared at the opening of my tent, his face fraught and tightened with worry and sleep, his eyes bleary and his hair a wild, untamed mane of auburn that stuck up in all directions.

"Are you okay?" he whispered softly, the anxiousness in his voice was noticeable as he knelt down next to me and sorted out my creased blanket.

"I'm fine." I stated, trying to keep my voice steady as tears threatened to flow any moment.

"You didn't sound fine," he answered abruptly, his eyes now slanted in suspicion. I pursed my lips and took a steady breath but it didn't work. My face crumpled with and hot tears streamed down my face as I blabbered incoherent words into the air. Niruin stopped what he was doing and crawled into the tent beside me, it was a tight fit but he managed to pull me gently onto his lap and I nestled my head in his shoulder, my tears leaving wet patches on his guild armour.

"I'm... sorry... Niruin..." I hiccuped, my face now a mess, no doubt. Niruin shushed me and stroked my hair like one would to a frightened puppy, tenderly and cautiously like I would snap at any moment.

"You don't have to apologise," he responded in a soft voice which eased and soothed my severed nerves then he continued, "what was it about?"

I assumed he meant the nightmare so I kept quiet whilst I tried to think of an honest yet not entirely truthful response. I didn't want to tell him about my coven and I didn't think he'd believe me if I told him that is was nothing, so I settled on a response.

"Werewolves," I mumbled into his chest. I inhaled lightly and noticed he smelled faintly of freshly fallen leaves and the smell rain leaves after stopping, it was calming and also rugged and I closed my eyes slightly, savouring this moment.

"Werewolves?" he asked skeptically and I almost hear his eyebrow raising. "Werewolves aren't going to get you." he said intelligently as if the answer could have been plucked out of thin air.

"Yeah," I grumbled in response and continued to lay on Niruin's chest, his hand raking slowly through my rats nest of hair and my heartbeat gradually slowing down to a normal pace once again. My eyes were starting to droop and eventually, Vaermina dragged me into her unforgiving realm for the second time that night.

When I awoke, my limbs were protesting at me and the feeling of a headache was lingering on the horizon as the too bright sun peeked over the autumn trees. I groaned and slung my arm over my eyes to shield them from the glare and that's when I noticed Niruin laying next to me. Our legs were entwined together and his arm was draped across my stomach in a casual manner as his light snores filled the silence. I glanced across at his peaceful face and smiled, his mouth was hanging open and his hair was haphazardly strewn across his angelic like face.

What a perfect way to start the day.


End file.
